The Ecstasies of Women

For me as a horror buff Herschell Gordon Lewis is best known for his Blood Feast (1963) horror recalled as the first gory slasher flick. But as many directors back then they also made some soft core sexploitation flicks. Those of Herschell were supposed to be lost until they popped up last year and were released on Blu ray.

Don't think you will see some excellent acting. This flick is pure sexploitation like you can find so many back then in the sixties but coming from Herschell hands they were really sought after.

In Ecstasies Of Women we learn to meet Harry (Walter Camp) in a go-go dance club surrounded with his friends on his bachelor party. having some booze and looking at the naked girls walking in the club he has flash backs from conquering girls he want to get laid with.

And of course that are the most important moments in this flick. Of course it's soft core so nothing is really shown except naked juggs and hairy pussies. Walter Camp was only seen in this flick and never heard again of, the girls he made love with on his boat did appear in other sexploitation flicks.

Just looking at the way it was shot it was excellent done except for the hand-held camera, everything was edited well (except the scene with Phil were you can spot the lens of a camera on the left), so nothing was revealed although here and there you can spot the genitals but no intercourse was shot. What we did have was some overdubs by the girls while having sex. The screaming and coming was clearly done after wards.

Lewis shot three sex films between 1969 and 1971 that fell completely off the radar – The Ecstasies of Women, Linda and Abilene (western) and Black Love (rated as porn) all under the pseudonyms of Mark Hansen and R.L Smith. The where supposed to be lost as I stated earlier but are now out there for the geeks of sexploitation and sixties erotic flicks. You have to take the titty club and the over acting by Camp to see the dream sequences but hey, the lead didn't stole his name, pure camp. Out on region free Blu Ray.

Gore 0/5 Nudity 3/5 Effects 0/5 Story 2/5 Comedy 0/5

Harry (Walter Camp) is a man whose friends throw him night-long bachelor party on the eve of him getting married. Harry flashes back to his many female "conquests" with the go-go dancers that remind him of his many past lovers.

This film has such awful delivery of lines and some really bizarre dialogue, including a man being accused of having "a fetish for babies". This might be good for a laugh, but it is amateur hour all the way.

The only reason it even warrants a "3 out of 10" is because it is Herschel Gordon Lewis, and therefore has some historical value for those interested in his career (including myself). As near as I can tell, nobody else associated with this film went on to do much of anything.

The Ecstasies of Women (1969)

** (out of 4)

Sexploitation flick from Herschell Gordon Lewis about a man named Harry (Walter Camp) who is about to be married the next day so his three friends take him to a strip joint for a bachelor party. Soon he starts drinking and re-counting some of his fun times as a single man picking up women. Being as this here is sexploitation, we then see the various sexual acts. Lewis will always be remembered for his gore films even though he made more softcore sex pictures. This one here was quite hard to find until its recent release from Vinegar Syndrome and I think fans of the genre should be entertained. There's certainly nothing ground-breaking here but for the most part the 75-minute running time flies by without too many boring spots. I was a little shocked to see how long the first story ran and because there's actually a lot more talk than actual sex. The other episodes are usually short on talk and get right down to the sex but the first one is the exception. Thankfully most of the women here are quite attractive and it's clear that the director and producer wanted big-breasted women and there are many of them. The film also offers up some pretty funny stuff including the first "date" where Harry talks about his ex-wife and her new husband. The performances are pretty much what you'd expect to see in a film like this but the majority of the time they can at least get the lines delivered without messing them up. If it's high art you're looking for then it's best to stay away from this. Those wanting cheap nudity should at least be entertained.

I'm not one to typically praise HGL as the man mostly created uninteresting garbage, even by exploitation standards, but this film almost rises above average. The plot is mostly an excuse to string together a series of sex scenes, but the dialog actually has a bit of wit to it. The flubbing of lines and stumbling dialog actually lends itself to a more credible experience as the actors come off as people who are a little too drunk but still looking for a good time. Even with the, unintentionally natural performances, the dialog sort of works at times with some of the characters actually showcasing a bit of wit that doesn't spiral into the absurd. I wouldn't suggest that one go out of their way to watch this but it is leagues better than most of the pot boilers he made through out his long career.